Farmington Upsets Bacon 49-44 To Win Class L Girls Basketball Title

UNCASVILLE — — Courtney Hofer is a soccer goalie. She is going to TCU on a scholarship. She hadn't played basketball for a few years but knew that this year would be her last chance to play for Farmington.

Good thing she decided to play, because Hofer was a key component in No. 10 Farmington's 49-44 upset of No. 1 and defending state champion Bacon Academy Saturday afternoon in the Class L title game at Mohegan Sun Arena. It was Farmington's first title.

"She's a beast on the boards," her teammate Sophie Borg said. "She's always getting rebounds. She's the most physical player on our team."

Hofer, playing with a taped pinkie on her left hand so it wouldn't dislocate, had 10 of Farmington's 39 rebounds, seven points, two assists and a block and did a formidable job of guarding Bacon's 6-foot senior, Taylor McLaughlin.

"Coach has watched endless tape to figure out how to stop her," Hofer said. "We worked on fronting all week. I knew I had to get out there and try to deflect as many balls as I could and we had to limit her touches."

McLaughlin still had 25 points and 12 rebounds and Carlee Putnam had 15 but the rest of the Bacon players struggled, shooting 2-for-18. The Bobcats finished at 24-3.

"It's no secret we have to rely on Taylor McLaughlin; everybody knows that that's seen us play," Bacon coach Dave Shea said. "Farmington played well together. They did a nice job, made some key shots when they had to."

Farmington (22-5) got balanced scoring from eight players and Borg and Brittany Belisle led the Indians with 11 points each.

Farmington pulled out to a 23-11 lead late in the first half but Bacon scored the last six points to pull within five, 23-18 at halftime. The Bobcats have had a history of last-minute shots and late surges in the championship game and Farmington lost its only other title game, in 2006, on a buzzer-beater to Bulkeley, so a rally was on both coaches' minds.

"We just had to be patient," Farmington coach Russ Crist said.

"I think we were fine the whole time," Hofer said. "I think the whole time we knew we had it. It happened in the RHAM [semifinal] game."

Putnam's jumper cut the lead to 37-31 with four minutes left but Ally Walsh got a put-back, Belisle hit two free throws and suddenly Farmington led by 10 again and never wavered.

Bacon, which won the Class M title in 2009 and the Class L title over E.O. Smith last year, returned most of its players from last year's team. But McLaughlin, a senior headed to Southern Connecticut, was philosophical after the game.

"We fought to the end," she said. "It came down to that, that they made more shots."

After the Indians started with a 6-4 record, Crist called the seniors together to figure out how to salvage the season. They did, but the losses put them into the tournament as the 10th seed and probably not too many people really believed they could knock off second-seeded Pomperaug or No. 6 RHAM or No. 1 Bacon, but they did.

"We're used to other people saying, 'You're Cinderella, you came out of nowhere, you don't fit in with the higher seeds,' but in the locker room, we never felt like that," Crist said. "We talked about our team being able to beat anybody if we played our best."